Cerberus
by Eliza Lighton
Summary: Joanna was the center of his world, but when the Enterprise receives a distress call, Leonard McCoy must do what he can to ensure the safety of his only child.


Joanna was quite literally the center of Leonard McCoy's world, and though he rarely got to see her in person, he cherished each and every video call and letter she sent him. If you asked her, he was a superhero, traveling space and saving everyone, especially Cap'n Jim. Where the majority of the crew found McCoy to be grumpy and sardonic, Joanna saw him as loving and gentle. His quarters were a gallery to her artwork, sent to him (begrudgingly) by his ex-wife, who really disapproved of his leaving Joanna without a "real" father for months or years at a time, thank you very much. She saw fit to remind him every time they spoke that "Clay Tredway has been to all her school pageants and showcases, and don't you forget it!"

On his worst days, only Joanna could brighten his day with a message. When there was no message, he could still hear her voice on the line saying "I love you Daddy!" and many times he nearly broke down, wondering if he had made the right decision in leaving her. And then he thought about the events that led him to where he was today. His dying father, a debilitating depression that spiraled into alcoholism and a year-long drunk, and a bitter divorce that left him nearly penniless. All he had left was his bones, indeed. No, as much as he missed his baby girl, she was far better off the way things were.

In his second year as Chief Medical Officer on the USS Enterprise, the ship received orders to send aid to a settlement and school on the planet Cerberus. The planet had experienced a major crop failure, and the people were now in the midst of a famine. It was also where Joanna went to school.

Leonard flew into a panic, becoming more irritable than normal, retreating into his office unless it was absolutely necessary that his presence was required elsewhere. His thoughts always drifted back to Joanna. Was she alright? How badly was she affected? His need for information was hindered by the severe lack of it. No news had come from the planet since the distress call. He had received no contact from Joanna in a month.

They reached the planet in three days, three days too long if you asked McCoy. When they arrived, another ship was already in orbit. Under the command of Carter Winston, a small freighter had already evacuated the school's students and faculty and had a ships cargo hold's worth of food and supplies. The Captain, First Officer Spock, and CMO McCoy beamed over to the ship once contact had been made. McCoy was led directly to the area where the girls from the school were being attended to, and he searched for his daughter's long brunette hair and hazel eyes. His eyes. All of a sudden, from the far corner, a cry of "Daddy!" was heard and a small thin body launched itself at his body. Father and daughter both fell to the floor in tight embrace, neither wanting to let go.

"I knew you'd come! I just knew it! I kept telling them that Daddy and Cap'n Jim would come save us!" she cried, sobbing into Leonard's chest.

The doctor fought to keep his composure. "Shh, honey, it's alright. I got you. I got you."

They sat together for a moment longer before Leonard's duty could not be forgotten anymore. With his small "shadow", he treated the girls for malnourishment and minor scrapes and bruises. The boys were worse, with broken bones. The staff of the school needed immediate shipment to the Enterprise for extreme malnourishment, as they had divided their rations to the students.

When he was finished treating his patients, he and Joanna made their way to the Bridge of the freighter, where Kirk and Spock had been discussing the planet's situation with the commander of the ship. Winston, a well to do tradesman from a nearby planet, had heard the distress call. He immediately filled his largest ship with supplies and went to aid. The school had been the first to be aided, as the children were his first priority. McCoy couldn't thank him enough.

"It really was my pleasure, Doc. When we intercepted the call, and heard there were a school of children, what else could I do? What else could I do."

The Enterprise officers, with Joanna in tow, beamed back to the ship. Kirk and an away party of security and science officers beamed to the planet's surface with more supplies and food to aid Winston's depleted supply. The science officers discovered that the planet's original crop had been destroyed by a rare bacterium that ate the plants from the inside out, and was only in bloom on Cerberus once a millennia. They took samples of crop and bacteria back to the ship for further testing.

Once back on the ship, Leonard took Joanna to Sick Bay for a more thorough check up. She was one of the lucky ones, without any serious issues besides lack of nutrition. He sent her with Nurse Chapel while he looked in on the school's faculty. One of Joanna's teachers, an Andorian woman, spoke highly of her student.

"Doctor, your daughter kept us together. She told stories of how you and the Enterprise had saved countless other people, and how you would know that she needed to be saved and you would come," the woman said weakly. "She kept the other children hoping, hoping that soon her hero would come."

McCoy smiled at the woman, resting a hand on her shoulder. "She's something else, for sure. You just rest now. You're in good hands." The woman smiled and fell asleep under Leonard's comforting glance.

When he had finished his rounds, he made his way to his office. There was an important call he needed to make. It was dinner time on Earth when he called, annoying Jocelyn to no end. She looked as annoyed as he was tired, but as she looked carefully, she said only one word. "Joanna…"

"…is fine. There was a situation, however, on Cerberus."

Jocelyn called for Clay and put a hand over her mouth. Leonard waited for the other man to enter the room and then began. "We're still doing tests, but a rare bacteria caused a major crop failure on the planet at the last harvest. The leaders believed, foolishly in my opinion, that they had enough to last the planet until the next harvest. It-"

"Dammit, Leonard! Spare me the backstory! What happened to my daughter?!" Jocelyn interrupted in a fury.

"I'm getting there! Let me finish." He watched the screen as Clay put a hand on his wife…ex-wife's shoulder. Jocelyn gave him a small nod, and he continued. "Thank you. The crop failure led to a widespread shortage of food. The shortage quickly turned into a famine due to mismanagement on a colossal scale. They spared the school as much as they could, and the staff there gave up most of their rations to give to the kids."

Jocelyn gasped. "And Joanna?"

"Is fine," he repeated. "She is being treated for malnourishment, but she's one of the luckier of the students. I have two boys and two thirds of the staff here on the Enterprise."

Clay, who had been silent for the entire time, spoke softly. "We need to figure out what to do now."

Leonard sighed heavily and rested his head on his hand. "Let me speak to Jim, see where we're next scheduled to dock in the next week or so. I'll send you the location and we'll discuss it then. I really need to get back to work, I just wanted to inform you of the situation."

Jocelyn wiped her eyes. "Thank you for letting us know personally. And Mac?"

"Yes?"

"Take care of our girl, huh?"

Leonard smiled. "'Course. McCoy out." He leaned towards the screen and pushed a button, ending the transmission. He sat back in his chair and closed his eyes, pondering the past four days, especially the last 8 hours. The chime on his door sounded. "Enter."

Kirk entered backwards, conversing animatedly with Joanna. His arms were waving and his voice was pitched low. "And I swear, Jo, he looked at me and said 'I may throw up on you'!" She giggled in response.

"Jim, quit corrupting my daughter."

Kirk smirked at him. "I'm not. I'm actually telling the God's honest truth here." He sat in a chair opposite McCoy and patted his leg. Joanna gleefully hopped onto his lap and tucked her head under his chin.

"Hey darlin'. How are you feeling?"

She yawned. "Sleepy."

"I'll bet. You've had more excitement since your seventh birthday than I had by the time I reached college."

She smiled at that. "Did you really tell Cap'n Jim you were going to throw up on him?"

Leonard growled and muttered a yes. Joanna threw her head back and let out a big belly laugh. He stood up and walked to her. "Come on. Let's get you set for bed." He scooped her in his arms and, with Jim, set for his quarters. Jim made various promises to the exhausted child, promising more stories about her father and their adventures together. He also promised to teach Joanna how to wrestle. McCoy was going to have to nip that one in the bud.

Jim kept an eye on Joanna as Leonard searched for items she needed. Jim made her brush her teeth and wash her hands, singing "Happy Birthday" as an acceptable time for scrubbing. McCoy managed to find an old Academy t-shirt for her to use as a nightie, and the men vacated the bedroom so she could change. When she was "decent and ready for visitors", Jim browsed the artwork on the wall while Leonard tucked his daughter in.

"I'll be back in in a little while."

"What if I get scared?"

He brushed her hair with his hand. "You won't. You know what one of your teachers told me?" When she shook her head, he continued. "She said that you kept everyone's spirits up. That you kept the other kids' hope up."

She looked him in the eyes and said very seriously, "It's because you're a superhero. You wouldn't let anything happen to me."

"That's right, baby girl. I won't let you get scared. Now try and get some sleep. I'll just be in the other room." He kissed her forehead. "Lights to twenty percent."

When he reached the outer room, Jim had broken into his liquor cabinet and poured them two glasses of brandy. He raised his glass in salute. "Thanks."

"You needed it. So what's the plan?"

Leonard was confused for a while and realized Jim was talking about Joanna. "I was going to ask you about that. When and where are we next scheduled to dock?"

Jim smiled a bit. "When and where would you like us to dock?"

Bones raised an eyebrow.

"Listen, Bones, you never get to spend any time with her. And before you start, video calls do not count. Now, I as captain, can help a friend out a bit. Delay docking or even head in the opposite direction. How does two weeks sound?"

As much as he wanted to, Leonard just couldn't agree to what Jim was saying. "It's too dangerous on the Enterprise! We come across the unknown, and most of it that we've seen has been hostile in some way or the other. I can't put Joanna through that."

"Bones, she just survived a freaking famine. People planet side were killing each other over food. I call bullshit on that excuse."

Leonard sighed. "Two weeks."

Jim grinned and slapped him on the shoulder. "Atta boy, Bones. I'll work us back towards Earth and set up plans to dock at Starbase 6. How does that sound?"

"Sounds good, Jim. Sounds real good."

"Alright. Get some rest, Bones. Captain's orders. You can call Jocelyn tomorrow." He turned and headed for the door.

"Get some rest yourself, Jim. CMO's orders."

Jim chuckled, and with a mock salute bid Leonard a good night. Bones stared at his empty glass for a moment, then sat it on his desk and entered his bedroom. Joanna stirred slightly as he laid in bed beside her, still in uniform. He put his arm around her and she snuggled in close. He began to drift into sleep until Joanna's small voice woke him.

"Daddy, when am I going home?"

"Couple of weeks, darlin'. We've got a mission or two and then we're headed to Starbase 6 where someone will pick you up."

"So I'll get to stay here for a while?"

He looked down at her half sleeping form. "Yeah. A while."

He felt her grin into his side. "Good. I've missed you."

"I've missed you too, baby girl. More than you know." Leonard McCoy fell asleep to the best night of sleep he'd ever had.


End file.
